A JURY has been sworn in for the trial of a former mining boss accused of manslaughter.

Malcolm Fyfield, 58, was the sole survivor of the Gleision mining disaster in Pontardawe, South Wales, in 2011. He managed to crawl out of the small coal mine after it flooded, but Charles Breslin, 62, Philip Hill, 44, Garry Jenkins, 39, and David Powell, 50, died.

Father-of-two Mr Fyfield denies four counts of causing manslaughter by gross negligence.

The pit's former operator, MNS Mining Ltd, pled not guilty to four counts of corporate manslaughter by failing to ensure that a safe system of work was in place.